Once upon a time in summer, a boy named Timothy came to visit his grandmother in the village. Every morning he ate hot pancakes with cold sour cream, juicy apples grew in the garden, and nearby in the woods flowed a babbling brook that was perfect for swimming.
Timothy really enjoyed visiting his grandmother. Only one thing saddened him—there were no other children in the village to play with.
And so one day the boy went to catch butterflies. He ran along the brook with his net, catching white cabbage butterflies and yellow brimstones, but he released them right away because they weren't bright or interesting enough. He was about to head home when suddenly he saw an amazing butterfly. It was dark orange, almost red, and on its wings were large dark circles, just like on a peacock's tail.
The boy quietly crept up and threw his net over it. The butterfly tried to fly up, but the net stopped it. The little one struggled with all her might in the net, but couldn't tear through it. And then she spoke in a human voice:
Please, let me go! And I'll grant you any wish you want.
Timothy thought for a moment, scratched his head, shrugged his shoulders and said:
Well, I want lots of things, but I don't know how to choose. If I wish for ice cream now, then I'll eat it, and nothing will be left. And the wish will be gone. What if I remember something important later?
All right. Then let me give you one wish, but you can change it until the sun touches the horizon. As soon as the sun begins to set, you'll be left with whatever you've chosen.
The butterfly answered.
Timothy was delighted and agreed. And he wished for roller skates. He looked at his feet, and there were the skates! Bright, orange with black wheels, beautiful. The butterfly hadn't deceived him. The boy wanted to thank her, looked in the net, but she had already flown away. He shouted louder then: "Thank you so much!" and rolled along the path by the brook.
But the path was bumpy, and the boy kept stumbling. Timothy realized it was uncomfortable to skate on rollers on the ground. And he decided it would be better to go fishing. Pop!—a sandalwood fishing rod appeared in his hands. And the skates disappeared. Our hero approached the stream, sat on the bank and began to fish.
He fished and fished. And he caught one! A beautiful crucian carp. He took it off the hook and realized he had nowhere to put it. Timothy thought that he should have brought a bucket with him—pop!—and right away an orange bucket with black polka dots appeared nearby, even filled with water. He put the crucian carp in it, wanted to take the rod, but it was gone.
Of course! It turned into the bucket! Well, now I can't fish anymore...
Timothy slapped his forehead.
He took the bucket and walked along the brook toward home. The sun was beginning to set, it was time to return to grandmother's.
The boy walked and thought about what an interesting day it had been. But it was such a shame that there was no friend nearby to tell all this to. And then he understood what his most important wish was! He released the carp into the brook, set the bucket on the path and said loudly:
I want a friend!
And the bucket turned into a girl. With dark orange hair and big dark eyes. The girl laughed and said:
Well done, you chose the most important wish in the world! I'll be your friend while you're visiting the village.
What's your name?
My name is Peacock Eye butterfly. You caught me this morning, and it was me turning into the skates, the fishing rod, and the bucket. I was curious what you would wish for. And I wasn't wrong about you, you're good, since friendship is the most important thing to you.
The girl laughed.
My name is Timothy. Let's go eat apple pies, grandmother always bakes them for dinner.
The boy introduced himself.
And the children went to have dinner. That's how our hero learned that a true friend is more important than any toys or things. And what would you wish for, little one?
